Fever blisters or cold sores are generally believed to be caused by a certain type of the herpes simplex virus. This type of virus usually affects the mouth, causing recurrent sores on the lips and areas around and in the mouth. On occasion, this virus gets into the blood stream and causes a serious infection in babies.
In addition to their unattractive appearance, recurrent fever blisters may burn and be quite sore. There is also some danger of secondary bacterial infection in the open ulcer.
It is possible to use local anesthetics to mitigate pain, antibiotics to control secondary bacterial infections when they occur and ointments to soften crusts. However, use of an antibotic frequently causes side reactions and tends to sensitize the patient to further effective or safe use of the drug. Hence it is important to avoid the secondary infection stage. Until the present invention, it is not believed that an effective cure has been available. Moreover, the present invention also works to alleviate discomfort from the pain associated with fever blisters.
A need has thus arisen for an effective method of treating fever blisters or cold sores.